Senior Staff Systems Engineer

Socket.dev; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer is seeking a senior Systems Engineer for Flight Control Actuation, responsible for defining and validating actuation system requirements across aircraft interfaces. You will work with multiple teams to ensure regulatory and product compliance and drive cross-disciplinary integration from concept to certification.

The role emphasizes collaboration, rigorous verification, and crafting robust verification plans.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of relevant experience.
• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or related field.
• Experience with actuation control systems and practical controls implementation.

Responsibilities

• Author and own flight control and actuation system-level requirements.
• Ensure traceability to objectives and interfaces across systems.
• Coordinate with Systems Engineers to ensure fully integrated systems meet requirements.
• Collaborate with systems and safety engineering to define functional interfaces.
• Participate in architecture definition, trade studies, and multidisciplinary integration.
• Support suppliers in developing lower-level requirement sets with other engineers and subject matter experts.
• Review internal and supplier designs, documentation, and performance for correctness and quality.
• Coordinate system-level Validation and Verification processes and maintain process independence.
• Contribute to improving internal processes and tools.
• Contribute to writing system-level verification plans and procedures, including end-to-end testing.
• Support development of aircraft-level documentation such as manuals and procedures.

Skills

Collaborative mindset

Verbal and written communication

Organization and self leadership

Problem solving

Integrated systems experience

Actuation control systems

EMI/EMC design

Harsh environments design/testing

Aircraft development lifecycle

Requirements management tools

Education

Electrical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Related field

Tools

Requirements management tools

Job description

Archer is an aerospace and defense company headquartered in San Jose, California, building the aircraft and technology that will define the next era of flight. The company works across air taxis, UAS, AI and powertrain development — building real-world systems that combine software intelligence with physical hardware. That includes Midnight, Archer's all-electric air taxi; Halo, an autonomous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft built for both commercial and defense use; and ZEE, Archer's AI foundation model built specifically for aviation. We’re seeking exceptional engineers, operators and builders to join us on our mission to build the future of aerospace and defense.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

As a member of our Flight Control Actuation System team you will define, design, validate, and verify system level requirements while working with various organizations to ensure requirement compliance for the flight control actuation systems of our two aircraft. You will be responsible for showing compliance with product and regulatory requirements while acting as a multi-disciplinary integrator at the flight control system and aircraft level as a whole.

What you’ll do:

• Author and take responsibility for the flight control and actuation system-level product requirements while ensuring compatibility with all interfacing systems.
• Ensure the requirement set is complete and correct, with traceability to and fulfilling business, technical, and operational objectives
• Coordinate with other Systems Engineers to ensure the fully integrated system meets its requirements and is optimized
• Collaborate with systems and safety engineering team to define the functional breakdown, and identify functional and physical interfaces
• Participate in architecture definition, trade studies, and mutli-disciplinary integration problem solving
• Support suppliers in the development of lower-level requirement sets with other systems engineers, technical leads, and subject matter experts
• Review and assess internal and supplier designs, documentation, and performance to ensure correctness, completeness, and quality of the product
• Coordinate the Validation and Verification processes at the system level, ensuring the plans are followed and process independence is maintained
• Contribute to improving internal processes and tools
• Contribute to writing system level verification plan and procedures, including formal requirements verification, end-to-end robustness testing, performance analysis, production acceptance test procedures
• Support development of compliance documentation such as the system certification plan, system compliance checklists, system review reports, system descriptions, issue paper development and responses
• Support development and review of aircraft level technical documentation such as aircraft manuals and procedures.

What you’ll need:

General

• Collaborative mindset
• Excellent verbal and written interpersonal communication skills
• Excellent organization and self leadership skills
• Passion for learning and problem solving
• 6+ years of relevant experience
• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or related field

Technical

• Experience developing or working with highly integrated systems (aerospace preferred)
• Experience with actuation control system requirements and practical controls implementation.
• Experience with actuation electronics and mechanical fundamentals
• Experience with EMI/EMC design, physics, mitigation and related testing
• Experience with design and testing for harsh environments
• Familiarity with Systems Engineering standards used in civil aviation and the underlying reasons and purpose for each process and activity
• Experience with aircraft development from concept to certification and entry into service
• Experience using one or more requirements management tools

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience executing formal Validation and Verification activities in a civil aerospace program
• Experience with low and high voltage electronics design, board layout, and testing
• Familiarity with Matlab/Simulink
• Familiarity with Python or similar scripting languages

This position requires access to information which is subject to U.S. export control regulations. To conform to such regulations as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), applicant should be eligible for any required authorizations from the U.S. Government.

At Archer, we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent with the skills and leadership needed to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that support the Company's strategy. For this position, we are targeting a base pay range of $180,000 - $225,000. Actual compensation offered will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Information collected and processed as part of any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Archer's Candidate Privacy Policy.

Certain positions may be eligible for visa sponsorship.

Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.